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Booze University: 6 Cool College Classes About Alcohol

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Maybe you got an unofficial bachelor’s degree in beer, but some colleges actually offer courses on drinking. Cheers to that. Here, six of the best.

by
Taylor Selcke 1 / 7

<p>Taking a full college course load and <a href="http://www.mensfitness.com/leisure/can-cramming-bolster-your-brain">cram... for exams</a> may seem like a drag, so much so that all you <em>probably</em> want to do at the end of the day is grab a drink. But what if&hellip;you could drink in class? (And no, we&rsquo;re not talking about sneaking sips out of a flask in the back row of your lecture hall.)</p>
<p>Believe it or not, some schools actually offer courses on <a href="http://www.mensfitness.com/nutrition/what-to-drink/6-surprisingly-health..., wines, and whiskies, where you can literally <em>drink</em> and get credit for it. Now, all joking aside, tasting is certainly part of the courses&mdash;but students <em>also</em> learn about everything from brewing techniques and grape-growing to toasting etiquette and booze history.</p>
<p>So where can you find this magical world of alcohol education? Read on to find out&mdash;then get ready to file your transfer application.</p>

UCF Marketing

<h3><font color=”red” font family=“Arial”>Exploring Wines of the World</font></h3>
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<strong>University of Central Florida-Orlando</strong></p>
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UCF is <em>the</em> place to go to learn about wine. Located in the heart of Orlando tourism, the school’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management is the largest of its kind, and each week, students enrolled in its wine-exploring class taste six wines from regions around the globe, discussing grape varieties and food pairings as they go.</p>
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The course has been offered to students for the past eight years, but instructor Frank Juge has been teaching courses on the subject for much longer. In the 1970s, Juge made headlines with his “controversial” Science of Wine course in the chemistry department. Juge was accused of using wine to seduce students into science—an accusation he admits is partially true.
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Candace Wallin

<h3><font color=”red” font family=“Arial”>Practical Malting and Brewing</font></h3>
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<strong>University of California-Davis</strong></p>
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For more than 40 years, students have been flocking to the Practical Malting and Brewing course at the University of California-Davis. Every spring, Charles Bamforth—who has taught the class since he arrived at the school in 1999—leads students in the beer brewing process. In teams, they take what they have learned from the course, create their own recipe, and brew a batch of beer to be judged by professional brewers from large and small Northern California companies. And each year, the winning beer wins a mystery prize.
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<h3><font color=”red” font family=“Arial”> Wine Appreciation </font></h3>
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<strong>Purdue University-West Lafayette, Indiana</strong></p>
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Over the course of 15 semesters, Christian Butzke has taught more than 4,000 students about wine appreciation. Those enrolled in the class taste regional and international wines, and Butzke encourages them to “speak to the wine, ” which involves commenting on the aroma, color, and taste—while also comparing it to others to form a personal preference. Each wine evaluation ends with toasting, a skill Butze believes to be an important, socially-energizing aspect of wine enjoyment, and each semester students learn about the production process by visiting a winery of their choice. File under: Coolest. Field Trip. Ever.
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Mark Taylor

<h3><font color=”red” font family=“Arial”>Beer Brewing at Home</font></h3>
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<strong>Cabrillo College-Aptos, California</strong></p>
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Award-winning home brewer Mark Taylor brings his experience and technique to Beer Brewing at Home at Cabrillo College. Students enrolled in this one-day extension course (offered three times per year) learn the fundamentals for making beer at home by using basic brewing techniques, equipment, and ingredients. Then, those who feel like they’ve grasped the introductory concepts of beer brewing can graduate to Taylor’s other course—<em>Beer Brewing at Home-Part 2</em>.
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<h3><font color=”red” font family=“Arial”>Vines and Wines: Introduction to Viticulture and Enology</font></h3>
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<strong>University of Minnesota-Twin Cities</strong></p>
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A combination of lectures and hands-on discussions allows students in Gary Gardner’s Vines and Wines course to really grasp the subject areas of viticulture (the study of grapes) and enology (the study of wine making). Along with tasting wines of different styles from different regions around the world, those enrolled in the course learn everything from grape genetics—which could contribute to wine quality—to current social and legal issues involving wine. And to cap it off, students tour a local vineyard and winery, allowing Gardner to hammer home the area's impact on the greater wine world.

<h3><font color=”red” font family=“Arial”>The Whisky Course</font></h3>
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<strong>Algonquin College-Ontario, Canada</strong></p>
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Just across the northern boarder, Algonquin College in Ontario offers a class on whisky. Although the emphasis is on Scotch whisky families, students also explore American bourbon, Tennessee whiskey, and Canadian rye whisky, among others. Bonus: The legal drinking age in Ontario is 19, so if you’re under 21, this is the place to go. You’ll learn about the history and unique distillation practices of each area, while also getting schooled on how to recognize certain tastes and aromas (through tasting and sampling, of course).
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